Reading vs Huddersfield Town. Sky Bet Championship.
Select Car Leasing StadiumAttendance16,684.
Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash between Reading and Huddersfield at the Select Car Leasing Stadium as Tom McIntyre and Yakou Meite scored for the Royals on Saturday.
Saturday 1 October 2022 18:46, UK
Reading secured their fifth win in six home Sky Bet Championship matches with a 3-1 victory over struggling Huddersfield.
Defender Tom McIntyre nodded dominant Reading in front in the 29th minute and they extended their lead nine minutes before the break through a freak own goal from Town keeper Lee Nicholls.
Huddersfield, with new head coach Mark Fotheringham in charge for the first time, improved slightly after the interval but were undone again when substitute Yakou Meite tapped home in the 81st minute.
Tom Lees nodded in a Sorba Thomas corner deep into stoppage time to make it 3-1 but Town were soundly beaten.
Reading had gone into the international break on the back of a 1-0 success at Wigan.
It was their fifth victory in seven games and had lifted them into third place in the table.
Huddersfield had also won last time out - 1-0 at home to Cardiff and three days after they had sacked previous boss Danny Schofield.
Fotheringham, the former Hertha Berlin assistant, replaced Schofield on Wednesday to take his first managerial job.
He took over a side that were struggling down in 23rd place in the second tier.
Huddersfield's game plan was clear from the off as they competed fiercely for every ball.
So much so that Reading's Sam Hutchinson and Andy Carroll needed treatment early on after hefty challenges.
Both were fit to continue but Town forced the first opening, with home goalkeeper Joe Lumley gathering safely from a weak Yuta Nakayama effort.
Reading responded quickly and positively, going in front just before the half-hour mark.
Tom Ince delivered a precise corner from the right and McIntyre rose high to firmly head past the exposed Nicholls.
Seven minutes later, Reading doubled their lead after Jeff Hendrick found acres of space on the left flank.
Huddersfield defender Michal Helik went for the low cross but succeeded only in diverting against team-mate Nicholls and into the net.
Reading maintained their pressure early in the second period but efforts from Tom Holmes and McIntyre failed to unduly trouble Nicholls.
Town at last began to make an attempt at reducing the deficit, not that their forays forward carried much conviction.
Substitute Danny Ward chanced his arm from 20 yards, but got nowhere near the target, and Reading swiftly resumed control.
Mostly, Reading were happy to hang on to what they had and break only when the opportunity arose.
That they did to good effect - and settled the contest - nine minutes from the end.
Ince released Meite and, after Nicholls had fumbled his initial shot, he nonchalantly tapped in the rebound from almost on the goal line.
Lees' late header, from Thomas' whipped-in corner, was a mere consolation for Town.
Reading's Paul Ince: "I was pleased with the first 45 minutes but not really the second 45. We were a bit off it. You can't really understand that when you're 2-0 up. You subconsciously start to defend too deep and you allow them to take control. That's something that we can't do on Tuesday (at home to Norwich). But for that first 45, I thought that we were excellent. At home, we've got to get on the front foot. Especially against a team like Huddersfield, who are probably lacking in confidence at the moment.
"Once we got that first goal, we looked a very good side going forward. And defensively, we looked very stable. Even when we got the second goal, it's still not enough at 2-0. I said to the lads at half-time that we just had to keep doing the basics right. Keep our concentration and focus, don't get complacent. But it seemed to go completely the other way. We got sloppy with our passing, we were messing about. Luckily, we then got the third goal. That was pleasing. But, overall, I've got to be happy with the performance."
Huddersfield's Mark Fotheringham: "It was a tough welcome to the Championship and it was a typical Championship game. The first goal we conceded was from a set-play and, with the second goal, we could have dealt with that better. It was a ricochet off our keeper and it's just gone in the goal. I felt that we actually had the two better chances in the first period but this is all part of working with young players. They can be so naive at times. But they want to do so well and that's what pleases me the most.
"There were a few positives. We pretty much dominated the second half. I don't think Reading had any real chances at all - and we did. I know that we can get better. We've Jonathan Hogg coming back with all his experience and aggression. And we've got another two or three young lads who are going to come back into the fold as well. So all that makes me feel positive when I'm looking to the games ahead.
"Yes, this does give me an idea (of the size of the job). I know this league, I've played in it twice. I know what it's like, it's just relentless. There's a big volume of games. But I believe in this group and I think that we're going to get better. We're obviously disappointed because of the scoreline today. It looks like it was worse than it actually was. But we still have a lot of work to do on the training field."
